Obradovich: Dvorsky reflects on Democrats' rebound

Dec. 9, 2012

Written by

Kathie Obradovich

When Sue Dvorsky packed up her classroom at the end of the school year in June 2010, she threw the boxes in the back seat of her car. Two days later, she drove to Des Moines to take over the helm of the Iowa Democratic Party.

Three months later, the boxes were still in the back of her car.

Dvorsky was packing again last week, shutting down the regional victory offices. In a few weeks, she’ll also be boxing up her personal items from the party headquarters as she leaves the chairwoman’s job.

In between, she’s helped the party claw its way back from the brink of the abyss. She took over just five months before the disastrous (for Democrats) 2010 election. The previous chairman, Michael Kiernan, stepped down early because of health reasons.

After losing the governor’s office and the House majority in the Republican tsunami of 2010, Democrats were on a downward spiral in party registrations. The party was demoralized and fractured, and it would get worse before it got better. Democrats lagged behind Republicans in registration by over 21,000 voters after the June 2012 primaries.

It wouldn’t have been unusual for Democrats to clean house after 2010, but Dvorsky, party executive director Norm Sterzenbach and field director Dena Gleason stayed in place. They conducted a first-ever self-assessment process for county parties to identify goals and then get grants for related projects funded by Sen. Tom Harkin.

Dvorsky traveled the state, pulling traditional Democratic constituencies back together. Most significantly, her labor background from years with the Iowa State Education Association was channeled toward reactivating disgruntled union activists. Dvorsky said the work done in 2011 put “hooks” in place for the candidates of 2012 to hang their campaigns. “I can’t tell you how personally thrilled I am that it worked,” she said.

Today, the party leads Republicans in voter registration by over 4,400. Democrats not only won Iowa for President Obama and held their narrow Iowa Senate majority, but also picked up seven seats in the Iowa House. They set voter turnout records and smashed all previous marks for early voting. The Obama juggernaut’s strategy and resources were vital to that effort, but the state party was the linchpin of the coordinated campaign.

They also lost incumbent U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell and failed to knock off Republican Rep. Steve King, but it’s hard to blame the party for most of the factors in those races. Overall, Dvorsky is leaving the Iowa Democratic Party in better shape than she found it.

“We don’t need to be here now. We’re on an upswing. We’re in really great shape,” she said. “Moving forward in ’13 is nothing like moving forward in ’11 was.”

Harkin said Dvorsky was “tireless” and managed to inspire action through the force of her personality. “She has just such an energy and vitality and spirit that it was infectious.,” he said. “She just got people to do things because she was so vibrant.”

Sterzenbach, who has served for six years, is also departing. In addition to the roller coaster of the past two years, he helped oversee the party’s record-setting 2008 caucuses and many technology advancements. Since then, he’s also been behind the scenes helping to keep the caucuses first in the nation.

Looking toward the future, the next party leaders will again be working to take over the House majority and hold the Senate. In addition, the governor, Harkin’s Senate seat and all of the state executive officers will be on the ballot in 2014, as well as all U.S. House seats.

Dvorsky says it will be a vital task to keep the new crop of energized volunteers, including young people and members of minority groups — involved and active in the party. Sterzenbach said the party should continue to work on organizing Democrats in rural Iowa. Harkin also wants to see the party more involved in electing Democrats at the county level. The new chairman will also need to work with Republicans to lay the groundwork for the 2016 caucuses.

The party should carefully consider Dvorsky’s example of what a full-time chair can accomplish. A column in Cityview, a Des Moines alternative newspaper, suggested last week that some Democrats were displeased with the $50,000 salary she received during her two-year term. But the party got far more than its money’s worth in fundraising, coalition building and national party relationships. For that matter, Republicans should consider moving in that direction, too, as they look to rebuild after 2012.

The Democrats’ state central committee was scheduled to meet Saturday — after my deadline for this piece — so check today’s paper and DesMoinesRegister.com for updates on the path toward choosing a new chairman. There are 45 voting members on the committee.